Car registrations are used by the DVLA to identify a vehicle.
From 1963 onwards, government-issued car registrations included an age identifier. Between February 1963 and July 1982, the DVLA decided to make the age identifier the last character of the car registration (the suffix). Then in August 1983, the first character of the car registration (the prefix) was the age identifier.
Nowadays, the age identifier is a number rather than a letter and appears in the middle of the car registration. We refer to these number plates as either "current style” or "new style” plates, which have been in circulation since September 2001.
Vehicle number plates issued before 1963 did not contain an age identifier and are referred to as "dateless" plates. These dateless number plates can be used on any vehicle regardless of the vehicle's age.
Number plate years by style
Below you can find the car registration styles with all of the different year identifiers. This could help you better understand the age of the vehicle using the number plate, unless the vehicle is displaying a dateless plate, or the owner has bought a personal number plate showing a different (older) year identifier.
Dateless number plates 1903 - 1962
The first of the plate formats, dateless number plates do not have any age identifier. Instead, they are made up of a district code and sequential number(s). For example, an ‘AG’ in a number plate represents the Ayr County Council district.
Suffix number plates February 1963 - July 1983
Suffix number plates are the successor to dateless number plates and were introduced by the DVLA in 1963. The age identifier is the final character of the plate. For example, D indicates that the vehicle registration plate was issued in 1966.
| YEAR OF ISSUE | SUFFIX CHARACTER |
|---|---|
| Feb 1963 - Dec 1963 | A |
| Jan 1964 - Dec 1964 | B |
| Jan 1965 - Dec 1965 | C |
| Jan 1966 - Dec 1966 | D |
| Jan 1967 - Jul 1967 | E |
| Aug 1967 - Jul 1968 | F |
| Aug 1968 - Jul 1969 | G |
| Aug 1969 - Jul 1970 | H |
| Aug 1970 - Jul 1971 | J |
| Aug 1971 - Jul 1972 | K |
| Aug 1972 - Jul 1973 | L |
| Aug 1973 - Jul 1974 | M |
| Aug 1974 - Jul 1975 | N |
| Aug 1975 - Jul 1976 | P |
| Aug 1976 - Jul 1977 | R |
| Aug 1977 - Jul 1978 | S |
| Aug 1978 - Jul 1979 | T |
| Aug 1979 - Jul 1980 | V |
| Aug 1980 - Jul 1981 | W |
| Aug 1981 - Jul 1982 | X |
| Aug 1982 - Jul 1983 | Y |
Prefix number plates August 1983 - August 2001
By the beginning of 1983 the DVLA had used all possible combinations of the Suffix style number plate format and needed to come up with something new. They decided to switch the format of the number plate around so that the age identifier was the first character of the number plate instead of the last. This new number plate format was called the Prefix style number plate.
In the example above, the “A” means that the plate was released in 1983.
What letters are not used on UK number plates?
You may notice the absence of ‘I’ and ‘Z’ as age identifiers on UK number plates. This is because they are used as characters in Irish Number Plates. Also, ‘Q’ can only be used for vehicles, whose age or identity can not be identified. The letters ‘O’ and ‘U’ are also not used as age identifiers on number plates.
| YEAR OF ISSUE | PREFIX CHARACTER |
|---|---|
| Aug 1983 - Jul 1984 | A |
| Aug 1984 - Jul 1985 | B |
| Aug 1985 - Jul 1986 | C |
| Aug 1986 - Jul 1987 | D |
| Aug 1987 - Jul 1988 | E |
| Aug 1988 - Jul 1989 | F |
| Aug 1989 - Jul 1990 | G |
| Aug 1990 - Jul 1991 | H |
| Aug 1991 - Jul 1992 | J |
| Aug 1992 - Jul 1993 | K |
| Aug 1993 - Jul 1994 | L |
| Aug 1994 - Jul 1995 | M |
| Aug 1995 - Jul 1996 | N |
| Aug 1996 - Jul 1997 | P |
| Aug 1997 - Jul 1998 | R |
| Aug 1998 - Feb 1999 | S |
| Mar 1999 - July 1999 | T |
| Aug 1999 - Feb 2000 | V |
| Mar 2000 - Jul 2000 | W |
| Aug 2000 - Feb 2001 | X |
| Mar 2001 - Aug 2001 | Y |
Current style number plates September 2001 - present
At the beginning of 2001, demand for registrations continued to grow as the number of vehicles on UK roads increased and eventually led to all possible prefix style combinations being used. Therefore, the DVLA elected to introduce the current style plates, which should remain operable until 2049.
Although, regional identifiers have been present in all of the different registration number formats and is known as a memory tag in the current style. It can be found in the beginning of the registration plate and is used to show where a vehicle was registered. This is followed by an age identifier and 3 random letters. In the example above, ‘GF,’ states that the number plate is from Maidstone and the ‘57’ shows that the vehicle was first registered in September 2007.
| YEAR OF ISSUE | AGE IDENTIFIER |
|---|---|
| Sep 2001 - Feb 2002 | 51 |
| Mar 2002 - Aug 2002 | 02 |
| Sep 2002 – Feb 2003 | 52 |
| Mar 2003 – Aug 2003 | 03 |
| Sep 2003 – Feb 2004 | 53 |
| Mar 2004 – Aug 2004 | 04 |
| Sep 2004 – Feb 2005 | 54 |
| Mar 2005 – Aug 2005 | 05 |
| Sep 2005 – Feb 2006 | 55 |
| Mar 2006 – Aug 2006 | 06 |
| Sep 2006 – Feb 2007 | 56 |
| Mar 2007 – Aug 2007 | 07 |
| Sep 2007 – Feb 2008 | 57 |
| Mar 2008 – Aug 2008 | 08 |
| Sep 2008 – Feb 2009 | 58 |
| Mar 2009 – Aug 2009 | 09 |
| Sep 2009 – Feb 2010 | 59 |
| Mar 2010 – Aug 2010 | 10 |
| Sep 2010 – Feb 2011 | 60 |
| Mar 2011 – Aug 2011 | 11 |
| Sep 2011 – Feb 2012 | 61 |
| Mar 2012 – Aug 2012 | 12 |
| Sep 2012 – Feb 2013 | 62 |
| Mar 2013 – Aug 2013 | 13 |
| Sep 2013 – Feb 2014 | 63 |
| Mar 2014 – Aug 2014 | 14 |
| Sep 2014 – Feb 2015 | 64 |
| Mar 2015 – Aug 2015 | 15 |
| Sep 2015 – Feb 2016 | 65 |
| Mar 2016 – Aug 2016 | 16 |
| Sep 2016 – Feb 2017 | 66 |
| Mar 2017 – Aug 2017 | 17 |
| Sep 2017 – Feb 2018 | 67 |
| Mar 2018 – Aug 2018 | 18 |
| Sep 2018 – Feb 2019 | 68 |
| Mar 2019 – Aug 2019 | 19 |
| Sep 2019 – Feb 2020 | 69 |
| Mar 2020 – Aug 2020 | 20 |
| Sept 2020 – Feb 2021 | 70 |
| Mar 2021 – Aug 2021 | 21 |
| Sep 2021 – Feb 2022 | 71 |
| Mar 2022 – Aug 2022 | 22 |
| Sep 2022 – Feb 2023 | 72 |
| Mar 2023 – Aug 2023 | 23 |
| Sep 2023 – Feb 2024 | 73 |
| Mar 2024 – Aug 2024 | 24 |
| Sep 2024 – Feb 2025 | 74 |
| Mar 2025 – Aug 2025 | 25 |
| Sep 2025– Feb 2026 | 75 |
| Mar 2026 – Aug 2026 | 26 |
| Sept 2026 – Feb 2027 | 76 |
| Mar 2027 – Aug 2027 | 27 |
| Sep 2027 – Feb 2028 | 77 |
| Mar 2028 – Aug 2028 | 28 |
| Sep 2028 – Feb 2029 | 78 |
| Mar 2029 – Aug 2029 | 29 |
| Sep 2029 – Feb 2030 | 79 |
| Mar 2030 - Aug 2030 | 30 |
| Sep 2030 - Feb 2030 | 80 |
| Mar 2030 - Aug 2030 | 31 |
| Sep 2030 - Feb 2031 | 81 |
| Mar 2031 - Aug 2031 | 32 |
| Sep 2031 - Feb 2032 | 82 |
| First Letter | Postal area | Memory tag identifier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Anglia | Peterborough | AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AH AJ AK AL AM AN |
| A | Norwich | AO AP AR AS AT AU | |
| A | Ipswich | AV AW AX AY | |
| B | Birmingham | Birmingham | BA – BY |
| C | Cymru | Cardiff | CA CB CC CD CE CF CG CH CJ CK CL CM CN CO |
| C | Swansea | CP CR CS CT CU CV | |
| C | Bangor | CW CX CY | |
| D | Deeside to Shrewsbury |
Chester | DA DB DC DD DE DF DG DH DJ DK |
| D | Shrewsbury | DL DM DN DO DP DR DS DT DU DV DW DX DY | |
| E | Essex | Chelmsford | EA – EY |
| F | Forest & Fens | Nottingham | FA FB FC FD FE FF FG FH FJ FK FL FM FN FP |
| F | Lincoln | FR FS FT FV FW FX FY | |
| G | Garden of England | Maidstone | GA GB GC GD GE GF GG GH GJ GK GL GM GN GO |
| G | Brighton | GP GR GS GT GU GV GW GX GY | |
| H | Hampshire & Dorset | Bournemouth | HA HB HC HD HE HF HG HH HJ |
| H | Portsmouth | HK HL HM HN HO HP HR HS HT HU HV HW HX HY *(HW will be used exclusively for Isle of Wight residents) |
|
| K | Luton | KA KB KC KD KE KF KG KH KJ KK KL | |
| K | Northampton | KM KN KO KP KR KS KT KU KV KW KX KY | |
| L | London | Wimbledon | LA LB LC LD LE LF LG LH LJ |
| L | Stanmore | LK LL LM LN LO LP LR LS LT | |
| L | Sidcup | LU LV LW LX LY | |
| M | Manchester & Merseyside | Manchester | MA – MY *(MN + MAN Reserved for the Isle of Man) |
| N | North | Newcastle | NA NB NC ND NE NG NH NJ NK NL NM NN NO |
| N | Stockton | NP NR NS NT NU NV NW NX NY | |
| O | Oxford | Oxford | OA – OY |
| P | Preston | Preston | PA PB PC PD PE PF PG PH PJ PK PL PM PN PO PP PR PS PT |
| P | Carlisle | PU PV PW PX PY | |
| R | Reading | Reading | RA – RY |
| S | Scotland | Glasgow | SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SJ |
| S | Edinburgh | SK SL SM SN SO | |
| S | Dundee | SP SR SS ST | |
| S | Aberdeen | SU SV SW | |
| S | Inverness | SX SY | |
| V | Severn Valley | Worcester | VA – VY |
| W | West of England | Exeter | WA WB WC WD WE WF WG WH WJ |
| W | Truro | WK WL | |
| W | Bristol | WM WN WO WP WR WS WT WU WV WW WX WY | |
| Y | Leeds | YA YB YC YD YE YF YG YH YJ YK YL | |
| Y | Sheffield | YM YN YO YP YR YS YT YU YV | |
| Y | Beverley | YW YX YY |
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